Boston Theater Company Brings Shakespeare to Shore
On January 21 and 26, Shore hosted actor-educators from the Boston Theater Company for a two-part workshop and performance with Upper School students.
The Company's mission is to present Shakespeare in new and contemporary ways, and it develops educational programming that explodes old notions of Shakespeare in favor of a unique, modern perspective. The Boston Theater Company's goal is for students who experience their programming to discover contemporary and personal connections to Shakespeare that will spark a lasting interest in theater and classic works.
On the first day of their visit to Shore, actors led eighth and ninth graders in a workshop exploring the themes in Romeo and Juliet. This workshop was designed to engage students emotionally and physically, experiencing the text through the eyes of the characters. It began with movement and ensemble work, which guided the students towards getting the characters in their body, and then segued into detailed text analysis of a critical scene from the play with an eye towards the characters' objectives and given circumstances. The actors then worked with students to develop an ensemble approach to the scene that physicalized the characters' journey. This process-oriented approach allowed an inside-out look at Shakespeare's language and encouraged a collaborative, artistic look at the story.
On the second day of the Company's visit, a cast of six presented a modern update of Shakespeare's Hamlet. This original version of the play retold the rich story of Hamlet with a new twist: a handful of the roles, including that of Hamlet himself, are reversed gender. The Boston Theater Company carefully crafted the script to showcase powerful women while maintaining the show’s original themes.
According to the Company, casting regardless of gender allows them to always cast the most talented actors, and makes classical texts equally accessible for actors of all genders. The Boston Theater Company's approach to texts involves rearranging dialogue and combining roles in order to tell classical stories dynamically while preserving the remaining original text.
This modern approach deeply engaged Shore's Upper Schoolers, who enjoyed bringing Shakespeare's works to life in their own words and interpretations. Faculty members, too, took part in the first day's workshop, and found the experience of inhabiting classical characters revealed nuances in the original texts.
During the culminating performance of Hamlet, the whole of the Upper School filled Shore's Theatre as the talented professional actors breathed life into the tragedy with contemporary clothing, minimalist staging, and frequent role-switching. The cast delighted the audience when two students were called up on stage to take part in Hamlet's play-within-a-play. Impassioned, emotional performances ending with the climactic death scene at the end of the drama made this Hamlet a wonderful experience for Shore students and faculty alike.
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The Company's mission is to present Shakespeare in new and contemporary ways, and it develops educational programming that explodes old notions of Shakespeare in favor of a unique, modern perspective. The Boston Theater Company's goal is for students who experience their programming to discover contemporary and personal connections to Shakespeare that will spark a lasting interest in theater and classic works.
On the first day of their visit to Shore, actors led eighth and ninth graders in a workshop exploring the themes in Romeo and Juliet. This workshop was designed to engage students emotionally and physically, experiencing the text through the eyes of the characters. It began with movement and ensemble work, which guided the students towards getting the characters in their body, and then segued into detailed text analysis of a critical scene from the play with an eye towards the characters' objectives and given circumstances. The actors then worked with students to develop an ensemble approach to the scene that physicalized the characters' journey. This process-oriented approach allowed an inside-out look at Shakespeare's language and encouraged a collaborative, artistic look at the story.
On the second day of the Company's visit, a cast of six presented a modern update of Shakespeare's Hamlet. This original version of the play retold the rich story of Hamlet with a new twist: a handful of the roles, including that of Hamlet himself, are reversed gender. The Boston Theater Company carefully crafted the script to showcase powerful women while maintaining the show’s original themes.
According to the Company, casting regardless of gender allows them to always cast the most talented actors, and makes classical texts equally accessible for actors of all genders. The Boston Theater Company's approach to texts involves rearranging dialogue and combining roles in order to tell classical stories dynamically while preserving the remaining original text.
This modern approach deeply engaged Shore's Upper Schoolers, who enjoyed bringing Shakespeare's works to life in their own words and interpretations. Faculty members, too, took part in the first day's workshop, and found the experience of inhabiting classical characters revealed nuances in the original texts.
During the culminating performance of Hamlet, the whole of the Upper School filled Shore's Theatre as the talented professional actors breathed life into the tragedy with contemporary clothing, minimalist staging, and frequent role-switching. The cast delighted the audience when two students were called up on stage to take part in Hamlet's play-within-a-play. Impassioned, emotional performances ending with the climactic death scene at the end of the drama made this Hamlet a wonderful experience for Shore students and faculty alike.
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Hamlet and Laertes in the climactic duel.
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Shore students in the play-within-a-play
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The death of Hamlet
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Curtain call
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A scene from the workshop day
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Eighth and ninth graders during the workshop
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Shore Country Day School’s mission is to provide an education that inspires a love of learning and encourages children to embrace academic challenge. We seek to build character, cultivate creativity, and value diversity as we help our children become healthy, compassionate citizens of the world.
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